These were the seed - started Mignon dahlias. About 18 inches tall.
Each flower has one to three honeybees. The other seed started dahlias have been bee - friendly too.
I put a label on each, hoping to keep track of them, dig up the tubers and overwinter this winter / fall.
This is the two- or three- year old Mandevilla vine that I overwintered. In April, I pruned severely and repotted in fresh potting soil. info 20 Apr 24.
It took a while for full comeback. That was a severe rehab. Here it is now.
Pretty dramatic comeback.
I can't recall what I did previous years. This time I used a dilute balanced fertilizer until it leafed out, then occasional dilute bloom food. No high nitrogen - I don't want long vines this time.
There are several plants in the border that I think I'd like to propagate for planting next Spring. If they root, I can keep them in sheltered location or in the Sunroom during cold winter weather.
I tried sage, Rosemary, and geraniums in water over the past few weeks. Not doing well, which might be the season or other factors. Sometimes it works for me for geraniums. I've seen on line that water works for rosemary and sage. One geranium cutting grew a root and is in soil now.
I didn't have more sage, so trimmed the cuttings in water back to fresh tissue. I did that for the rosemary too.
My cutting materials before trimming.
With the sage, I want fresh clean cuts in fresh tissue. Also, the leaves might transpire too much, so I trimmed them.
Sage cutting, before trimming. I used single edge razor blade for the sharpest, cleanest cuts.
Then I used a butter knife as a dibbler, made a hole in pre-wetted seed starting medium, and inserted about two nodes deep.
Cleanup of the rosemary cuttings was similar. Before and after trimming, same photo.
I also cut the apical growth. I don't know if that makes a difference.
The geranium cuttings. Before trimming.
After trimming.
Treatment of Spanish lavender cuttings was similar to the rosemary, except they were freshly harvested.
All planted.
Then I placed the pots of cuttings into produce bags. Four fit per bag.
I'm keeping them on the North side of the garden shed, out of the sun, Current temp is 70F.
Will they root and grow? I'll be watching them.
Still doing rehab of the border.
When I first planted the border, I moved some lavender plants there that had been in a wildflower meadow. I don't know the cultivar. They survived and grew, but during the past two years I was unable to care for the border. It was taken over, mainly by thistles.
Two of those lavender plants survived but were so scraggly and woody, I didn't think they could be rehabilitated. So I cut them off.
That was a week ago. Today I noticed there were multiple buds growing from the bases.
